Roshanne Mark was charged with child abuse at Way to Grow Care in Patchogue

A former East Patchogue daycare worker became violent with children in her care, dragging two 3-year-olds by the arms and hitting a third in the back of the head, authorities said Saturday.

Suffolk County police said they arrested Roshanne Mark, 33, of Bohemia, around 9:30 a.m. after a week-long investigation into the alleged incident on Oct. 17 Way to grow day care center at 655 Montauk Highway.

She was charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a minor.

The day care center was closed Saturday and a message left on their voicemail service was not immediately returned.

Way to Grow, which is owned and operated by the Council for Economic Opportunity of Suffolk Inc., according to their website, failed an inspection from the state Office of Children and Family Services, which oversees child care facilities, the day after the alleged incident.

The child welfare agency cited the center, which cares for 150 children, 16 infants, 30 toddlers, 52 preschoolers and 72 school-age children, for violating eight regulations — including a ban on corporal punishment, using disciplinary tactics that ” frighten, demean or humiliate” a child and fail to immediately report the incident to the state’s Central Child Abuse and Maltreatment Registry, according to the state agency’s website.

Inspectors visited Way to Grow three more times in 2024, according to records. In April, the center passed an unannounced inspection. In May, a complaint to the agency found children being left without competent supervision, but another visit by the agency after a complaint found no violations. The day care was also cited in December 2022 for not having an available health plan for on-site staff and again in March 2023 for not having adequate staffing, according to the state’s website.

Marks could not be reached for comment. She is expected to be arraigned in First District Court in Central Islip later this week.